Wednesday, April 25, 2012
rich jerks not saving enough to retire. what's the prob?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canadas-retirement-savings-system-needs-multipronged-boost-report/article2412789/
The report adds to previous research suggesting that Canadians are overly confident about their retirement savings, even though a large percentage of Canadians face a big drop in income once they retire. The stock market has offered limited returns since its peak 12 years ago, hurting the returns of both pension funds and individuals’ savings, the report notes.
“However, close to a quarter of households are not on track to generate a retirement income sufficient to maintain their standard of living when they move out of the work force,” the report says.
“The share of households that are not on track varies from as little as 4 per cent for the lower income and higher-age cohort to as much as 41 per cent for the higher income and higher-age cohort,” it says.
----------------
D - I don't see the problem. The older Boomers, the ones that had the most benefits from their demographic position, are living high on the hog and not saving.
SO WHAT!!!
Stop trying to help THEM.
They're actually getting what they deserve - FINALLY!
Sheesh.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Quebec standoff. Gov't blinks first?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/quebec-education-minister-calls-for-truce-with-student-strikers/article2411323/
The Quebec government is showing signs of buckling under the pressure of a 10-week student strike over a planned tuition-fee hike.
After several weeks of balking at holding a full meeting with the students, Education Minister Line Beauchamps agreed to meet them, though not before they agreed to call a 48-hour truce to the social unrest that has recently sparked violent clashes with police.
----------------
D - that's not what the Quebec gov't said before.
At least, nothing about a 2 day peace being the only condition.
----------------
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/quebec-premier-jokes-with-business-leaders-as-police-beat-back-protesters/article2409664/
Quebec Premier jokes with business leaders as police beat back protesters.
Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in central Montreal on Friday in a sign of growing tension and violence over Quebec’s decision to hike student tuition fees.
Police wielded batons and tear gas against demonstrators who massed around Montreal’s convention centre, where Premier Jean Charest was to give a speech to promote his northern-development plan.
The confrontation signals a marked deterioration in a 10-week-old student movement that began as a peaceful protest against the Charest government’s decision to increase tuition fees by $325 a year for five years.
When he did speak to business leaders and elected officials, the Premier joked about the protests outside, saying that his northern-development job fair was so popular, “people were running from all over the place to get in.” He also quipped that employers could offer the protesters jobs “as far North as possible.”
--------------------
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/protesters-clash-with-police-as-quebec-students-grievances-grow/article2409122/
A spring of discontent in Quebec characterized by scenes of red-clad student protesters erupted into something darker Friday.
Demonstrators hurled projectiles ranging from rocks to flower pots in downtown Montreal, disrupting political events indoors and committing vandalism outdoors. Riot police fought back by swinging batons and firing rubber bullets and tear-gas canisters into the crowd.
A few participants stressed one message: This isn’t just about university fees anymore.
Students and environmentalists joined forces against a conference on Mr. Charest’s cherished Plan Nord.
An investigative show on the French-language CBC showed a provincial Liberal organizer — and onetime prominent organizer for the Harper Tories — discussing the Plan Nord while being surreptitiously videotaped.
That organizer, Pierre Coulombe, was videotaped suggesting to reporters, who pretended to be potential clients, that they could have access to Plan Nord decision-makers for a fee.
-------------
D - G&M is frustrating. Stellar news coverage. Slick-looking web interface. And... POS search engine.
There is no way to narrow down search results. This combo makes G&M the 'dumb blonde' of the online news world. Sad.
With a decent search engine, it'd be KING.
D- about HALF the Quebec student signed some pact decrying the use of violence in protest.
By extension, HALF did not.
D - I've made my case for low, even token, university tuitions before. (See blog on accessibility, and 1 before.)
The political right has tried to reframe the Quebec tuition protests as:
1) an unjustified sense of untitlement
2) being behind the times, and out of touch with contemporary fiscal reality
3) diminishing the autonomy of various universities, who become solely reliant on direct gov't funding,
4) starving the Quebec universities of funding, leading to inferior education.
As my recent blogs attest, the political right is pretty much clearly and demonstrably WRONG on every count!
Aside- I tried to send one blog link to the Quebec federation of student, but the e-mail did not reach the other end.
Interesting.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
real estate long term trends
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/boomers-generation-had-everything-it-wanted-and-it-still-does/article2387987/
Please don’t resent me because I’m a boomer – although I wouldn’t blame you if you do. The government has made it very clear that the concept of shared sacrifice does not apply to my generation. Unlike people under 54, we boomers will get every penny of the Old Age Security benefits we’ve been promised, and probably all the health care, too. Think of how we’d squawk if they tried to lay a glove on us. We’re entitled to our entitlements!
Real estate was very good to us. In 1980, I borrowed some money from my mom and paid $95,000 for a decrepit house in Toronto’s up-and-coming Beach. Mortgage rates zoomed to 17 per cent. That was scary. But I got raises every year, and a combination of inflation and soaring house prices did the rest. Between the mid-1980s and 2008, we boomers enjoyed the most prolonged period of prosperity in modern times. By 2010, modest investments in Toronto real estate had made many paper millionaires.
-----------
http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid=21
Government transfers are more important for individuals and economic families with low earnings, including retired seniors. In 2007, government transfers accounted for, on average, 45.7% of total income for economic families in the bottom 20% income group and 22.7% for those in the next 20% income group. For economic families in the middle 20% income group, 12.9% of their total income came from government transfers, while for the highest and second highest groups, government transfers represented 2.6% and 6.9% of total income respecfully[1].
Government transfers also accounted for a larger share of total income for unattached individuals than for economic families.
----------
D - so family income has stagnated. At the same time, real estate is much more expensive today to purchase, whereas houses have become an investment source for Boomers.
One can shrug and say well that is just private economic forces.
But we're dealing with public social spending right now.
And it can be summed up with Boomers get it and XYZers don't - or won't.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Quebec tuition revisited. ACCESSIBILITY
D - that's the term everybody on both sides of the Quebec tuition issue bandy about.
Here's the other side.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/04/13/brendan-steven-quebec-students-must-pay-their-share/
(D -about Brendan. Brendan Steven is a third year political science & Canadian studies student at McGill University. He is a co-founder of McGill’s Moderate Political Action Committee (ModPAC), an organization mobilizing students opposed to the strike.)
The change will take Quebec from having the lowest tuition rate in the country to … still having the lowest tuition rate in the country.
Student activists have orchestrated a series of strike actions in opposition to the tuition increase. The name of the game has been hyperbole: accusations that Charest seeks to implement “American-style” privatized education, and claims that accessibility for low-income students will be ravaged by the changes.
Quebec’s artificially low tuition rate is a failed policy. It has done nothing to increase accessibility, the raison d’être of rock-bottom tuition, and has only left Quebec’s universities poorer than their national counterparts.
(D - I'm not sure what he means by "artificial" there - maybe below the other provinces?)
There is simply no observed correlation in Canada between lower tuition fees and higher rates of university participation. A study by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy found that the three provinces with the lowest tuition in the country (Quebec, Manitoba and Newfoundland) all suffered from the largest gaps of participation between low-income and high-income students. Nova Scotia, with the highest tuition rate in the country, also had the highest rate of university participation.
(D - this term proves to be a Red Herring - see my retort.)
This is not to say that higher tuition leads to higher accessibility. Certainly, the Frontier Centre’s researchers note that tuition can be so high it becomes a genuine barrier to access. Canada, however, is nowhere near that point, and Quebec certainly will be nowhere near it once these tuition increases are implemented.
(D - I show there is a chilling effect at work on student from poor families already, at the tuition rates of other provinces in Canada.)
---------
D - we don't want universities subject to to the funding whims of gov't, apparently.
D - coupla things. First of all, the present highest tuitions in Canada are Ontario, New Brunswich and then Nova Scotia, in that order.
D - but let's focus on his article's main argument - low tuition does not impede poor student participation.
What is "participation"? Well, in the most simplistic analysis, it is measured based on university enrollment and attendance, period. There are some serious problems with this.
At the grad level, the financial situation of the student continues to have an impact on accessibility.
http://careerchem.com/CAREER-INFO-ACADEMIC/Frank-Elgar.pdf
(D - ABM stands for All But Dissertation.)
Even the demographic profile of ABD students has changed dramatically in
recent years. As Smith (2000) describes, most ABDs are in their mid-30s or early-40s, most are
married or in a relationship with at least one child, 70% are employed in areas unrelated to their
discipline, and most live too far away from campus to meet regularly with professors or to utilise
campus services. They are burdened with multiple commitments, live a non-commutable distance
from campus, and poor. As Ziolkowski (1990) notes, in light of the social and economic plight of
ABD students, it should not be surprising that most report feeling isolated and “left behind.”
D - reaching a PhD degree pays dividends. Worth a million bucks!
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CHEQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yorku.ca%2Foira%2Freports%2FGreenPaper%2F18%2520-%2520Trends%2520in%2520Higher%2520Education%2520-%2520Enrolment%2520-%2520AUCC.pdf&ei=HWOIT6HNGcT0gge-m4XcCQ&usg=AFQjCNHnPtDXfdzoGpZ_EQ65PNuP5tE1bA&sig2=SieLqT-DDnQnLeRaX0nUwQ
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/campus-reports/a-university-education-in-canada-is-a-bargain/article2211942/print/
Canada’s generous financial aid programs, such as the Canada Grant Program and student loans, also make education here a steal. “We have to remember that although we charge everyone tuition up front, a lot of that is given back right away in tax rebates,” says Usher, noting that tax credits range from 20% to 30% of tuition depending on the province.
D - spoken like a true middle class member. Tax credits are of no use for the truly poor below the first tax bracket.
D- between first year and graduation, 1 in 7 drop out. WHY?
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=4af0ba5c-1d32-4897-8ae3-cf8937cf001e
OTTAWA - One is seven young Canadians who pursue higher education drop out before they graduate, with most making the call by the time they've finished their first year, says a Statistics Canada study.
The federal agency reported Tuesday that 15 per cent of students who enrol in post-secondary education quit for a variety of reasons...
The study concluded that students who quit were heading in that direction from their first year.
In their first year post-secondary experience, leavers were already faltering in terms of meeting deadlines, academic performance and study behaviour, said Statistics Canada.
Danielle Shaienks, one of the study's authors, said that the non-completion rate is roughly the same as it was in 2002...
(D - oh so, the dropouts lacked worth ethic? Maybe - or maybe they were juggling a job on the side unsuccessfully, recognizing the risk of graduating with a big student loan.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/08/work
Consistent with the conventional wisdom, said Gary R. Pike, lead author of the study, working more than 20 hours a week has a negative impact on students' grades, whether the the employment is on campus or off. Students who work 20 hours or less, on campus and off, report roughly similar grades as do students who do not work at all.
D - let's look at those tuition level that Steven deems acceptable and benign...
http://www.cfs-fcee.ca/studentdebt/index.html
Impact of Tuition Fees and Student Debt
Among those who have never participated in post-secondary education, “financial issues” have been found by researchers to be the most commonly cited barrier. As demonstrated below, financial struggles lead to a diverse array of consequences.
Debt Aversion
Debt aversion is the personal calculation that the sacrifice of debt accumulation and repayment are not worth the return from post-secondary education. When examining the details of financial barriers to participation in Canada, Malatest and Associates found that debt aversion was strong among nonattendees, cited by one in four who said that financial issues were preventing their enrolment/
http://www.cfs-fcee.ca/studentdebt/index.html
Persistence and Mental Health
Apprehension about accumulating debt can also have a profound impact on the likelihood of completion. As many students work part- or full-time to reduce their borrowing, academic commitments can become more difficult to fulfil. Other students simply leave before completion at the first offer of decent employment as a way to stop accumulating debt.
Surveys of students in programs with deregulated tuition fees have demonstrated that student debt changes the career path of young graduates. Studies of medical students9 and law students10 found that students expect to seek higher paying jobs in fields or regions that are not necessarily their first choice. Student debt appears to be driving committed young doctors away from family practice and young lawyers away from the public service and/or pro bono work. These distorted career choices have an impact not only on individual professionals but also on access to health care and legal services for all Canadians.
----------
D - this first round of Quebec tuition hikes is just the tip of the iceberg. As part an ongoing trend, here is the result:
http://www.cba.org/cba/national/Students/Student01.aspx
Out of sight
In the past decade, reports Statistics Canada, undergraduate tuition fees have risen an astonishing 126.2%, more than six times the 20.6% increase in inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index.
Law, dentistry, and medicine continue to be the most expensive programs. In some provinces, tuition fees at professional schools have doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled in recent years. And the numbers keep rising.
This fall, first-year law students across Canada will pay tuition fees of anywhere from a low of $1,668 (for Quebec residents who go to one of the province's five law schools) to a high of $12,000 at the University of Toronto. Generally, fees are highest in Ontario and Nova Scotia, and lowest in Quebec and British Columbia.
Add to that the costs of books, ancillary fees, food and housing, and single students can expect to pay anywhere from $10,000 to more than $25,000 a year to study for a law degree. When you factor in the expenses of Bar Admission Courses, plus debts from previous degrees, it's no surprise that some law graduates can expect to enter today's profession with staggering debt loads approaching $100,000.
High tuition fees, says Dr. William Easton, create barriers to education, and thus threaten the supply of professionals required to serve the needs of the Canadian public.
Easton is chair of the National Professional Associations Coalition on Tuition (NPACT), an affiliation of representatives from numerous professional associations — including the CBA — concerned about tuition fee increases.
Opponents of fee hikes worry that the increased costs will deter people, especially those who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, from even considering the law as a career possibility. Students from rural areas, recent immigrants, those without savings or credit histories, and students with children are among those most vulnerable to the effects of high fees.
"The costs are so onerous that law school doesn't become part of someone's realm of possibility," says Ummni Kahn, a recent Osgoode Hall graduate who worked at Parkdale Community Legal Services as part of the school's intensive program in poverty law. She's now articling with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. "When I talked to clients at Parkdale about going into law, they'd say, no, that's out of my league."
"Sticker shock" and debt aversion are the two main barriers that keep potential law students out of higher-priced institutions...
------------
D - in conclusion, high tuition - at a level already found in much of the rest of Canada:
1) forces students to take on work for money that hurts marks,
2) encourages poor students to drop out before completing degrees,
3) steers poor students away from lucrative professional degrees.
Contrast this with Brendan Steven's claim that tuition rates on par other provinces such as Ontario don't impact on poor student university 'participation rates'.
You decide.
(Extrapolate present tuition trends to see what awaits GenZ - those still in lower levels of school. Grim stuff. Budget pressure from retiring Boomers will only amplify existing trends.)
Here's the other side.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/04/13/brendan-steven-quebec-students-must-pay-their-share/
(D -about Brendan. Brendan Steven is a third year political science & Canadian studies student at McGill University. He is a co-founder of McGill’s Moderate Political Action Committee (ModPAC), an organization mobilizing students opposed to the strike.)
The change will take Quebec from having the lowest tuition rate in the country to … still having the lowest tuition rate in the country.
Student activists have orchestrated a series of strike actions in opposition to the tuition increase. The name of the game has been hyperbole: accusations that Charest seeks to implement “American-style” privatized education, and claims that accessibility for low-income students will be ravaged by the changes.
Quebec’s artificially low tuition rate is a failed policy. It has done nothing to increase accessibility, the raison d’être of rock-bottom tuition, and has only left Quebec’s universities poorer than their national counterparts.
(D - I'm not sure what he means by "artificial" there - maybe below the other provinces?)
There is simply no observed correlation in Canada between lower tuition fees and higher rates of university participation. A study by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy found that the three provinces with the lowest tuition in the country (Quebec, Manitoba and Newfoundland) all suffered from the largest gaps of participation between low-income and high-income students. Nova Scotia, with the highest tuition rate in the country, also had the highest rate of university participation.
(D - this term proves to be a Red Herring - see my retort.)
This is not to say that higher tuition leads to higher accessibility. Certainly, the Frontier Centre’s researchers note that tuition can be so high it becomes a genuine barrier to access. Canada, however, is nowhere near that point, and Quebec certainly will be nowhere near it once these tuition increases are implemented.
(D - I show there is a chilling effect at work on student from poor families already, at the tuition rates of other provinces in Canada.)
---------
D - we don't want universities subject to to the funding whims of gov't, apparently.
D - coupla things. First of all, the present highest tuitions in Canada are Ontario, New Brunswich and then Nova Scotia, in that order.
D - but let's focus on his article's main argument - low tuition does not impede poor student participation.
What is "participation"? Well, in the most simplistic analysis, it is measured based on university enrollment and attendance, period. There are some serious problems with this.
At the grad level, the financial situation of the student continues to have an impact on accessibility.
http://careerchem.com/CAREER-INFO-ACADEMIC/Frank-Elgar.pdf
(D - ABM stands for All But Dissertation.)
Even the demographic profile of ABD students has changed dramatically in
recent years. As Smith (2000) describes, most ABDs are in their mid-30s or early-40s, most are
married or in a relationship with at least one child, 70% are employed in areas unrelated to their
discipline, and most live too far away from campus to meet regularly with professors or to utilise
campus services. They are burdened with multiple commitments, live a non-commutable distance
from campus, and poor. As Ziolkowski (1990) notes, in light of the social and economic plight of
ABD students, it should not be surprising that most report feeling isolated and “left behind.”
D - reaching a PhD degree pays dividends. Worth a million bucks!
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CHEQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yorku.ca%2Foira%2Freports%2FGreenPaper%2F18%2520-%2520Trends%2520in%2520Higher%2520Education%2520-%2520Enrolment%2520-%2520AUCC.pdf&ei=HWOIT6HNGcT0gge-m4XcCQ&usg=AFQjCNHnPtDXfdzoGpZ_EQ65PNuP5tE1bA&sig2=SieLqT-DDnQnLeRaX0nUwQ
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/campus-reports/a-university-education-in-canada-is-a-bargain/article2211942/print/
Canada’s generous financial aid programs, such as the Canada Grant Program and student loans, also make education here a steal. “We have to remember that although we charge everyone tuition up front, a lot of that is given back right away in tax rebates,” says Usher, noting that tax credits range from 20% to 30% of tuition depending on the province.
D - spoken like a true middle class member. Tax credits are of no use for the truly poor below the first tax bracket.
D- between first year and graduation, 1 in 7 drop out. WHY?
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=4af0ba5c-1d32-4897-8ae3-cf8937cf001e
OTTAWA - One is seven young Canadians who pursue higher education drop out before they graduate, with most making the call by the time they've finished their first year, says a Statistics Canada study.
The federal agency reported Tuesday that 15 per cent of students who enrol in post-secondary education quit for a variety of reasons...
The study concluded that students who quit were heading in that direction from their first year.
In their first year post-secondary experience, leavers were already faltering in terms of meeting deadlines, academic performance and study behaviour, said Statistics Canada.
Danielle Shaienks, one of the study's authors, said that the non-completion rate is roughly the same as it was in 2002...
(D - oh so, the dropouts lacked worth ethic? Maybe - or maybe they were juggling a job on the side unsuccessfully, recognizing the risk of graduating with a big student loan.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/08/work
Consistent with the conventional wisdom, said Gary R. Pike, lead author of the study, working more than 20 hours a week has a negative impact on students' grades, whether the the employment is on campus or off. Students who work 20 hours or less, on campus and off, report roughly similar grades as do students who do not work at all.
D - let's look at those tuition level that Steven deems acceptable and benign...
http://www.cfs-fcee.ca/studentdebt/index.html
Impact of Tuition Fees and Student Debt
Among those who have never participated in post-secondary education, “financial issues” have been found by researchers to be the most commonly cited barrier. As demonstrated below, financial struggles lead to a diverse array of consequences.
Debt Aversion
Debt aversion is the personal calculation that the sacrifice of debt accumulation and repayment are not worth the return from post-secondary education. When examining the details of financial barriers to participation in Canada, Malatest and Associates found that debt aversion was strong among nonattendees, cited by one in four who said that financial issues were preventing their enrolment/
http://www.cfs-fcee.ca/studentdebt/index.html
Persistence and Mental Health
Apprehension about accumulating debt can also have a profound impact on the likelihood of completion. As many students work part- or full-time to reduce their borrowing, academic commitments can become more difficult to fulfil. Other students simply leave before completion at the first offer of decent employment as a way to stop accumulating debt.
Surveys of students in programs with deregulated tuition fees have demonstrated that student debt changes the career path of young graduates. Studies of medical students9 and law students10 found that students expect to seek higher paying jobs in fields or regions that are not necessarily their first choice. Student debt appears to be driving committed young doctors away from family practice and young lawyers away from the public service and/or pro bono work. These distorted career choices have an impact not only on individual professionals but also on access to health care and legal services for all Canadians.
----------
D - this first round of Quebec tuition hikes is just the tip of the iceberg. As part an ongoing trend, here is the result:
http://www.cba.org/cba/national/Students/Student01.aspx
Out of sight
In the past decade, reports Statistics Canada, undergraduate tuition fees have risen an astonishing 126.2%, more than six times the 20.6% increase in inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index.
Law, dentistry, and medicine continue to be the most expensive programs. In some provinces, tuition fees at professional schools have doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled in recent years. And the numbers keep rising.
This fall, first-year law students across Canada will pay tuition fees of anywhere from a low of $1,668 (for Quebec residents who go to one of the province's five law schools) to a high of $12,000 at the University of Toronto. Generally, fees are highest in Ontario and Nova Scotia, and lowest in Quebec and British Columbia.
Add to that the costs of books, ancillary fees, food and housing, and single students can expect to pay anywhere from $10,000 to more than $25,000 a year to study for a law degree. When you factor in the expenses of Bar Admission Courses, plus debts from previous degrees, it's no surprise that some law graduates can expect to enter today's profession with staggering debt loads approaching $100,000.
High tuition fees, says Dr. William Easton, create barriers to education, and thus threaten the supply of professionals required to serve the needs of the Canadian public.
Easton is chair of the National Professional Associations Coalition on Tuition (NPACT), an affiliation of representatives from numerous professional associations — including the CBA — concerned about tuition fee increases.
Opponents of fee hikes worry that the increased costs will deter people, especially those who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, from even considering the law as a career possibility. Students from rural areas, recent immigrants, those without savings or credit histories, and students with children are among those most vulnerable to the effects of high fees.
"The costs are so onerous that law school doesn't become part of someone's realm of possibility," says Ummni Kahn, a recent Osgoode Hall graduate who worked at Parkdale Community Legal Services as part of the school's intensive program in poverty law. She's now articling with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. "When I talked to clients at Parkdale about going into law, they'd say, no, that's out of my league."
"Sticker shock" and debt aversion are the two main barriers that keep potential law students out of higher-priced institutions...
------------
D - in conclusion, high tuition - at a level already found in much of the rest of Canada:
1) forces students to take on work for money that hurts marks,
2) encourages poor students to drop out before completing degrees,
3) steers poor students away from lucrative professional degrees.
Contrast this with Brendan Steven's claim that tuition rates on par other provinces such as Ontario don't impact on poor student university 'participation rates'.
You decide.
(Extrapolate present tuition trends to see what awaits GenZ - those still in lower levels of school. Grim stuff. Budget pressure from retiring Boomers will only amplify existing trends.)
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Millenials can't save for retirement with debts
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/retirement-rrsps/young-people-worried-about-retirement-dont-get-mad-get-saving/article2396282/
“I don’t have a pension plan,” Mr. Lem says. “And I would love to put $100 a month into an account that I won’t touch until I am 60, but that $100 is paying off the interest rates on four credit cards and my student loan.”
Young Canadians, a generation saddled with record high student debt and facing an expensive housing market, tight job prospects and stalled earnings, are still absorbing news that they might need to work two years longer than their parents.
------
D: new OAS.
------
The latest Conservative federal budget calls for the eligibility age of OAS and the closely tied Guaranteed Income Supplement to rise from 65 to 67, over a span of six years starting in April, 2023.
What that means is that if you are 54 or younger and decide to retire at 65, you’ll be getting $13,000 less. Not everyone qualifies for the OAS benefit: If you earn more than $69,562, you must repay some of it. If you make more than $112,772, the full amount is clawed back.
(D - but don't count on OAS. At all)
Caring for Clients financial planner Rona Birenbaum has stopped incorporating OAS into the retirement projections of anyone under the age of 40 – in part because she believes it could be clawed back further.
“As a conservative approach, we are now taking it out entirely,” Ms. Birenbaum says.
The maximum amount Canadians can receive in OAS is $540.12 a month, which works out to more than $6,000 a year. “That can make a big difference in a retired person’s life. So taking this out of retirement projections, it is no joke,” she says.
------------
D - so the advice is 'save more'. Well, how to do that with
1) student loan
2) house mortgage
3) having a child that will soon cost $1/4M by adulthood,
4) (and that is not counting a matching amount for a degree by then!)
D - easy say. Also completely USELESS advice.
Monday, April 9, 2012
USA: seniors still owe student loans!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/senior-citizens-continue-to-bear-burden-of-student-loans/2012/04/01/gIQAs47lpS_story.html?wprss
New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that Americans 60 and older still owe about $36 billion in student loans, providing a rare window into the dynamics of student debt. More than 10 percent of those loans are delinquent. As a result, consumer advocates say, it is not uncommon for Social Security checks to be garnished or for debt collectors to harass borrowers in their 80s over student loans that are decades old.
(D - original source: http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2012/03/grading-student-loans.html )
The long-touted benefits of a college degree are being diluted by rising tuition rates and the longevity of debt.
Some of these older Americans are still grappling with their first wave of student loans, while others took on new debt when they returned to school later in life in hopes of becoming more competitive in the labor force. Many have co-signed for loans with their children or grandchildren to help them afford ballooning tuition...
And unlike other debts, student loans cannot be shed in bankruptcy. As a result, some older Americans have found that a college degree led not to a prosperous career but instead to a lifetime under the shadow of debt.
Barnett filed for bankruptcy in 2005, but she couldn’t get out from under her student loan debt. She said a collection agency began garnishing the wages from her full-time job as a customer service representative a year ago, and now money is so tight that she must choose between buying gas and buying food.
---------------
D - OMG, they can garnish senior gov't benefits? Really?
And NEVER kick a student loan.
It is easy to scoff and say, "well, that is just those Americans", but we got pretty close here a few years back. And may very well end up there again.
Right now, the Canadian minimum time out of school to go backrupt on a student loan is SEVEN years. But it was TEN. That scared the hell out of me the time. In fact, I got in trouble with family over it. My 1 grandma was born in Lithuania, then settled here after WWII. This means, under the immigration rules of Lithuania, as blood descendents, my siblings and cousins could become Lithuanians. I did not know what the future held. The trend in student loans suggested that a 20, 25 or even "life sentence" for student loans could easily happen. I was eyeing the possibility of retiring still owing a student debt - particularly if I tried to take any more school! I did not want to bother grandma (Oma) about the details we would need to qualify for citizenship, but it made sense at the time.
And here's the kicker- it may yet make sense. There is no reason that the government, faced with spiralling Boomer retirement pension and medical costs cannot try the same stunt again.
SEVEN years can become ten again, then 14, then 25 and finally LIFE.
Notice the similarity to criminal law sentencing here. Put another way, a student loan that cannot be bankrupted upon (particularly if old age benefits can be garnished) is tantamount to a life (and death) penalty... all for the temerity of going to school.
New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that Americans 60 and older still owe about $36 billion in student loans, providing a rare window into the dynamics of student debt. More than 10 percent of those loans are delinquent. As a result, consumer advocates say, it is not uncommon for Social Security checks to be garnished or for debt collectors to harass borrowers in their 80s over student loans that are decades old.
(D - original source: http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2012/03/grading-student-loans.html )
The long-touted benefits of a college degree are being diluted by rising tuition rates and the longevity of debt.
Some of these older Americans are still grappling with their first wave of student loans, while others took on new debt when they returned to school later in life in hopes of becoming more competitive in the labor force. Many have co-signed for loans with their children or grandchildren to help them afford ballooning tuition...
And unlike other debts, student loans cannot be shed in bankruptcy. As a result, some older Americans have found that a college degree led not to a prosperous career but instead to a lifetime under the shadow of debt.
Barnett filed for bankruptcy in 2005, but she couldn’t get out from under her student loan debt. She said a collection agency began garnishing the wages from her full-time job as a customer service representative a year ago, and now money is so tight that she must choose between buying gas and buying food.
---------------
D - OMG, they can garnish senior gov't benefits? Really?
And NEVER kick a student loan.
It is easy to scoff and say, "well, that is just those Americans", but we got pretty close here a few years back. And may very well end up there again.
Right now, the Canadian minimum time out of school to go backrupt on a student loan is SEVEN years. But it was TEN. That scared the hell out of me the time. In fact, I got in trouble with family over it. My 1 grandma was born in Lithuania, then settled here after WWII. This means, under the immigration rules of Lithuania, as blood descendents, my siblings and cousins could become Lithuanians. I did not know what the future held. The trend in student loans suggested that a 20, 25 or even "life sentence" for student loans could easily happen. I was eyeing the possibility of retiring still owing a student debt - particularly if I tried to take any more school! I did not want to bother grandma (Oma) about the details we would need to qualify for citizenship, but it made sense at the time.
And here's the kicker- it may yet make sense. There is no reason that the government, faced with spiralling Boomer retirement pension and medical costs cannot try the same stunt again.
SEVEN years can become ten again, then 14, then 25 and finally LIFE.
Notice the similarity to criminal law sentencing here. Put another way, a student loan that cannot be bankrupted upon (particularly if old age benefits can be garnished) is tantamount to a life (and death) penalty... all for the temerity of going to school.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
30 somethings and their 'jesus year'
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-rise-of-the-jesus-year/article2394608/
So, what exactly is a Jesus Year? The term cropped up periodically on early blogs and Myspace pages, but only now appears to be gaining traction among those trying to make the increasingly difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood.
This is the definition found in the Urban Dictionary: “Time to get moving and get things done (maybe).”
Brooklyn-based artist Wayne Adams is more forthcoming. “Thirty-three is largely considered the age Jesus Christ was when His life and ministry were abruptly ended in His crucifixion,” he explains on the blog Curator, adding that, as he approached his own Jesus Year, “in the back of my mind, it seemed like there was a sort of historical/biblical precedent for being at the height of one's career, or at least doing something incredibly important at that age.”...
This interpretation doesn't, however, take into account the frustrations faced by today's thirtysomethings. “The basic milestones that young people of previous generations could expect to complete by the age of 30 – graduating school, leaving home, becoming financial independent and forming their own families – aren't necessarily occurring in that standard fashion,” says Barbara Mitchell, who teaches sociology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
“It's unprecedented from a historical perspective. On the one hand, they have all these opportunities and options. On the other hand, I can imagine they'd start to feel somewhat anxious about trying to transition into complete adulthood in an economy that doesn't allow them to do that.”
They are trying to anchor themselves in something bigger than themselves.”
So, the Jesus Year has become a meme for dealing with, not a mid-life crisis but rather a stalled-life crisis.
“By 35, especially for women, you have to be married with babies; otherwise you kind of missed your time.”
She interpreted the Jesus Year as an opportunity for reinvention, a kind of bonus year off from the pressures of adulthood, and embarked upon a year of self-improvement and magical thinking.
– the most profound reality of this age today is that it's the last gasp before you leave the valuable under-35 demographic. You are becoming less valuable to the marketing machine that had praised you since your teens. All the things you bought don't love you back. The rub, of course, is where do you turn instead?
-------------
D - check out the article for more. Lots of bon mots there.
D - now that I think about that, I think I went through that in my late 30s. I thought at the time that must be my mid-life crisis. But it wasn't.
Midlife crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques stating a time where adults come to realize their own mortality and how much time is left in their life. [1] A midlife crisis is experienced by many people during the midlife transition when they realize that life may be more than halfway over. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as andropause or menopause, the death of parents or other causes of grief, unemployment or underemployment, realizing that a job or career is hated but not knowing how else to earn an equivalent living, or children leaving home. People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, large expenditures, or physical appearance. (Wiki)
D - I don't qualify for a midlife crisis. There is no house, no wife, no kids, hell, not even a career or vocation. Just entry-level, pays-the-rent work.
I thought to myself, "at 40 I'll be in this stupid factory doing trained monkey work still, after 5 years here!" Career-wise, trying to reinvent myself failed. I'm still doing trained monkey entry level work. I have become more contemplative, I suppose.
Plus, I am not nearly done and am slowly pursuing some game-changing strategies still.
D - in conclusion, this new "Jesus Year" can only take place in the absence of the standard signposts of success necessary to reach a midlife crisis!
So, what exactly is a Jesus Year? The term cropped up periodically on early blogs and Myspace pages, but only now appears to be gaining traction among those trying to make the increasingly difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood.
This is the definition found in the Urban Dictionary: “Time to get moving and get things done (maybe).”
Brooklyn-based artist Wayne Adams is more forthcoming. “Thirty-three is largely considered the age Jesus Christ was when His life and ministry were abruptly ended in His crucifixion,” he explains on the blog Curator, adding that, as he approached his own Jesus Year, “in the back of my mind, it seemed like there was a sort of historical/biblical precedent for being at the height of one's career, or at least doing something incredibly important at that age.”...
This interpretation doesn't, however, take into account the frustrations faced by today's thirtysomethings. “The basic milestones that young people of previous generations could expect to complete by the age of 30 – graduating school, leaving home, becoming financial independent and forming their own families – aren't necessarily occurring in that standard fashion,” says Barbara Mitchell, who teaches sociology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
“It's unprecedented from a historical perspective. On the one hand, they have all these opportunities and options. On the other hand, I can imagine they'd start to feel somewhat anxious about trying to transition into complete adulthood in an economy that doesn't allow them to do that.”
They are trying to anchor themselves in something bigger than themselves.”
So, the Jesus Year has become a meme for dealing with, not a mid-life crisis but rather a stalled-life crisis.
“By 35, especially for women, you have to be married with babies; otherwise you kind of missed your time.”
She interpreted the Jesus Year as an opportunity for reinvention, a kind of bonus year off from the pressures of adulthood, and embarked upon a year of self-improvement and magical thinking.
– the most profound reality of this age today is that it's the last gasp before you leave the valuable under-35 demographic. You are becoming less valuable to the marketing machine that had praised you since your teens. All the things you bought don't love you back. The rub, of course, is where do you turn instead?
-------------
D - check out the article for more. Lots of bon mots there.
D - now that I think about that, I think I went through that in my late 30s. I thought at the time that must be my mid-life crisis. But it wasn't.
Midlife crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques stating a time where adults come to realize their own mortality and how much time is left in their life. [1] A midlife crisis is experienced by many people during the midlife transition when they realize that life may be more than halfway over. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as andropause or menopause, the death of parents or other causes of grief, unemployment or underemployment, realizing that a job or career is hated but not knowing how else to earn an equivalent living, or children leaving home. People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, large expenditures, or physical appearance. (Wiki)
D - I don't qualify for a midlife crisis. There is no house, no wife, no kids, hell, not even a career or vocation. Just entry-level, pays-the-rent work.
I thought to myself, "at 40 I'll be in this stupid factory doing trained monkey work still, after 5 years here!" Career-wise, trying to reinvent myself failed. I'm still doing trained monkey entry level work. I have become more contemplative, I suppose.
Plus, I am not nearly done and am slowly pursuing some game-changing strategies still.
D - in conclusion, this new "Jesus Year" can only take place in the absence of the standard signposts of success necessary to reach a midlife crisis!
Friday, April 6, 2012
impact of young at campaigns of politcal parties
http://bcblue.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/weed-activists-will-help-put-rae-in-as-liberal-leader/
Red flags went off in my head as soon as I saw the number of 25-and-unders being reported as Liberal convention attendees:
“With about 1,000 delegates here at the Liberal biennial convention being under the age of 25, a youth movement is certainly evident.” (see here)
This is normally a feel-good story as everyone likes the idea of young people getting involved in politics but one of the dangers of reducing the fees so dramatically, is it opens the door for special interest groups to manipulate party policies.
As a party official, I watched Belinda Stronach’s youth delegates at the Conservative 2005 convention in Montreal nearly take control of the executive administration and leave some policy time-bombs which would have handcuffed Stephen Harper to the point of impotency and potentially blown up the newly formed party.
So when the Liberal Party passed their pro-weed resolution with a 77% majority and I saw who was celebrating (see earlier post), then watched as Bob Rae flip-flopped on his support for dope (see here), it confirmed in my mind who will be a major force behind Rae becoming the permanent leader all set up by their new voting rules (see here).
With about 1,000 delegates here at the Liberal biennial convention being under the age of 25, a youth movement is certainly evident. But that hasn’t come without a cost.
Exactly how much? Two hundred dollars. At least that’s how much each Young Liberal has been asked to fork out to attend the three-day convention in which the party’s future is being decided. This is less than regular delegates, and most Young Liberals are excited about being here. But more than one wishes the price was a little less steep.
“I’m glad I paid to be here, because I think it’s worth it,” said Michael d’Amours, a Young Liberal from Montreal. “But other parties have lower prices and I think it’s a good idea to lower it.
“If you’re not sure about the other party that asks for $50 and the Liberal Party that wants $200, you’re more going to go to the $50 just to see and chances are you might like it and you won’t know what happens here.”
Liberals agreed Saturday night to allow people to join their party as "supporters," a move interim leader Bob Rae implored delegates to take.
He said it would be a "historic" change for the party and, after some debate, the proposal got the two-thirds support it needed to pass.
Rae said creating the supporter category, which will allow Canadians to take part in future leadership votes without paying a membership fee, will help break down walls between the Liberal party and citizens.
"It's an extraordinary opportunity for this party," he said.
The proposal was made by the Liberals' national board in its "Roadmap to Renewal" plan for rebuilding the party and it required an amendment to the constitution.
---------------
D - like I said, I want an advocacy group, a lobby, without close ties to any 1 party. Not that it matters- all the parties support pro-Boomer platforms. None use a Marxist "class consciousness" but with a generational aspect. None will say no to the loudly crying Boomer baby throwing a tantrum at being denied desert after the buffet.
Regarding Bob Rae, I will NEVER vote for him, EVER. He was the first politician I ever voted for. I voted for a party platform that evaporated and then got reversed. The damage he did to my entire work/fiscal life from the get-go cannot be under-estimated. It is no exaggeration to say I remain destitute to this day more due solely to this man's actions in office than any other single actor.
NEVER.
I'm pretty sure Rae in charge of the federal Liberals ensures a vast gap in potential voters of age 40 and above that have post-secondary eduction.
Red flags went off in my head as soon as I saw the number of 25-and-unders being reported as Liberal convention attendees:
“With about 1,000 delegates here at the Liberal biennial convention being under the age of 25, a youth movement is certainly evident.” (see here)
This is normally a feel-good story as everyone likes the idea of young people getting involved in politics but one of the dangers of reducing the fees so dramatically, is it opens the door for special interest groups to manipulate party policies.
As a party official, I watched Belinda Stronach’s youth delegates at the Conservative 2005 convention in Montreal nearly take control of the executive administration and leave some policy time-bombs which would have handcuffed Stephen Harper to the point of impotency and potentially blown up the newly formed party.
So when the Liberal Party passed their pro-weed resolution with a 77% majority and I saw who was celebrating (see earlier post), then watched as Bob Rae flip-flopped on his support for dope (see here), it confirmed in my mind who will be a major force behind Rae becoming the permanent leader all set up by their new voting rules (see here).
With about 1,000 delegates here at the Liberal biennial convention being under the age of 25, a youth movement is certainly evident. But that hasn’t come without a cost.
Exactly how much? Two hundred dollars. At least that’s how much each Young Liberal has been asked to fork out to attend the three-day convention in which the party’s future is being decided. This is less than regular delegates, and most Young Liberals are excited about being here. But more than one wishes the price was a little less steep.
“I’m glad I paid to be here, because I think it’s worth it,” said Michael d’Amours, a Young Liberal from Montreal. “But other parties have lower prices and I think it’s a good idea to lower it.
“If you’re not sure about the other party that asks for $50 and the Liberal Party that wants $200, you’re more going to go to the $50 just to see and chances are you might like it and you won’t know what happens here.”
Liberals agreed Saturday night to allow people to join their party as "supporters," a move interim leader Bob Rae implored delegates to take.
He said it would be a "historic" change for the party and, after some debate, the proposal got the two-thirds support it needed to pass.
Rae said creating the supporter category, which will allow Canadians to take part in future leadership votes without paying a membership fee, will help break down walls between the Liberal party and citizens.
"It's an extraordinary opportunity for this party," he said.
The proposal was made by the Liberals' national board in its "Roadmap to Renewal" plan for rebuilding the party and it required an amendment to the constitution.
---------------
D - like I said, I want an advocacy group, a lobby, without close ties to any 1 party. Not that it matters- all the parties support pro-Boomer platforms. None use a Marxist "class consciousness" but with a generational aspect. None will say no to the loudly crying Boomer baby throwing a tantrum at being denied desert after the buffet.
Regarding Bob Rae, I will NEVER vote for him, EVER. He was the first politician I ever voted for. I voted for a party platform that evaporated and then got reversed. The damage he did to my entire work/fiscal life from the get-go cannot be under-estimated. It is no exaggeration to say I remain destitute to this day more due solely to this man's actions in office than any other single actor.
NEVER.
I'm pretty sure Rae in charge of the federal Liberals ensures a vast gap in potential voters of age 40 and above that have post-secondary eduction.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
ontario pension fund must be cut. meaning.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/ontario-teachers-pension-benefits-have-to-be-cut-duncan-declares/article2390503/
The pension fund for Ontario’s teachers is $9.6-billion in the red, and the province wants to fix the shortfall by cutting benefits, not hiking contributions.
The heavily indebted province is seeking to shift the onus for solving shortfalls away from taxpayers as part of its plan to put its finances back on a solid footing.
The funding shortfall that existed as of Jan. 1 happened despite recent contribution increases, benefit cuts, and solid investment returns.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan CEO Jim Leech emphasized to reporters in a press conference on Tuesday morning that the plan is still 94 per cent funded.
“This is not a crisis,” he said. “This is our 10th year that we have faced a preliminary deficit.”
-----------
D - funny how every pension plans seems to floundering. But we keep getting reassured that, somehow, CPP has been spared.
If that is the case, then I'll eat my hat!
The truth will be outed after the next Triennial pension review.
The pension fund for Ontario’s teachers is $9.6-billion in the red, and the province wants to fix the shortfall by cutting benefits, not hiking contributions.
The heavily indebted province is seeking to shift the onus for solving shortfalls away from taxpayers as part of its plan to put its finances back on a solid footing.
The funding shortfall that existed as of Jan. 1 happened despite recent contribution increases, benefit cuts, and solid investment returns.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan CEO Jim Leech emphasized to reporters in a press conference on Tuesday morning that the plan is still 94 per cent funded.
“This is not a crisis,” he said. “This is our 10th year that we have faced a preliminary deficit.”
-----------
D - funny how every pension plans seems to floundering. But we keep getting reassured that, somehow, CPP has been spared.
If that is the case, then I'll eat my hat!
The truth will be outed after the next Triennial pension review.
impact on future income of young of old: drag
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/growth/canadians-longevity-starting-to-weigh-on-economic-growth-boc/article2391986/
Speaking in Toronto, Jean Boivin – one of Governor Mark Carney’s five deputies – said the bank’s 2.2 per cent projection for the economy’s “potential growth” rate in 2014 would be 0.2 percentage point higher without the effects of people living longer while the share of working people shrinks. The drag from aging will subtract from potential output for the rest of this decade, he said, and in 20 years average incomes could be 20 per cent lower if families, businesses and governments don’t adjust...
“There are only three options: we either find more work, greater productivity or higher savings.”
In addition, Mr. Boivin warned, the less we adjust now, the worse the burden on future generations.
“As much as two-thirds of the average income loss due to the absence of an adjustment to aging – the 20 per cent figure I mentioned earlier – could be regained if productivity grew at a rate close to its average over the past 50 years, instead of the anemic rate experienced over the past decade.”
(D - our productivity has been falling behind the American rate for decades...)
---------------
D - I have bad news for you. Boomers are just gonna keep living LONGER, as we make more medical advances. Take, for example, this promising "vaccine versus heart attacks" -
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Vaccine+stop+heart+attacks+could+here+years/6388028/story.html
A vaccine delivered in an injection or nasal spray to prevent heart attacks could be available within five years.
Scientists have discovered that the drug stimulates the body's immune system to produce antibodies which prevent heart disease by stopping fat building up in the arteries.
It is the first time that the underlying cause of heart disease has been targeted. Current treatments focus on using drugs to reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
The vaccine can cut the build up of fat in arteries by up to 70 per cent, according to tests by researchers at Lund University in Sweden. The fatty deposits cause arteries to narrow, meaning the body has to work harder to pump blood, and can lead to a heart attack.
Prof Peter Weissberg, the British Heart Foundation medical director, said the vaccine was "very promising".
----------
D - be afraid. Y'know, the very first pension plan would have been sustainable...
http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/canada-pension-plan-overview-history-and-debates
In 1927, the federal government introduced the first Old Age Pensions Act, establishing a national pension scheme...
The maximum pension provided was $20 per month and $240 per year, and was made available to all British subjects over the aged 70 or older who had lived in Canada for 20 years (though Status Indians were excluded). The pension, however, was limited to seniors whose annual income was less than $350.
D - we'll look back and wish we'd left it like that...
Imagine that: Boomers that have all retired (and at an earlier age than you are allowed to) just... lingering. Absolutely refusing to just kick the bucket. Ending up with a whole lot of centenarians. Gah!
Speaking in Toronto, Jean Boivin – one of Governor Mark Carney’s five deputies – said the bank’s 2.2 per cent projection for the economy’s “potential growth” rate in 2014 would be 0.2 percentage point higher without the effects of people living longer while the share of working people shrinks. The drag from aging will subtract from potential output for the rest of this decade, he said, and in 20 years average incomes could be 20 per cent lower if families, businesses and governments don’t adjust...
“There are only three options: we either find more work, greater productivity or higher savings.”
In addition, Mr. Boivin warned, the less we adjust now, the worse the burden on future generations.
“As much as two-thirds of the average income loss due to the absence of an adjustment to aging – the 20 per cent figure I mentioned earlier – could be regained if productivity grew at a rate close to its average over the past 50 years, instead of the anemic rate experienced over the past decade.”
(D - our productivity has been falling behind the American rate for decades...)
---------------
D - I have bad news for you. Boomers are just gonna keep living LONGER, as we make more medical advances. Take, for example, this promising "vaccine versus heart attacks" -
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Vaccine+stop+heart+attacks+could+here+years/6388028/story.html
A vaccine delivered in an injection or nasal spray to prevent heart attacks could be available within five years.
Scientists have discovered that the drug stimulates the body's immune system to produce antibodies which prevent heart disease by stopping fat building up in the arteries.
It is the first time that the underlying cause of heart disease has been targeted. Current treatments focus on using drugs to reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
The vaccine can cut the build up of fat in arteries by up to 70 per cent, according to tests by researchers at Lund University in Sweden. The fatty deposits cause arteries to narrow, meaning the body has to work harder to pump blood, and can lead to a heart attack.
Prof Peter Weissberg, the British Heart Foundation medical director, said the vaccine was "very promising".
----------
D - be afraid. Y'know, the very first pension plan would have been sustainable...
http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/canada-pension-plan-overview-history-and-debates
In 1927, the federal government introduced the first Old Age Pensions Act, establishing a national pension scheme...
The maximum pension provided was $20 per month and $240 per year, and was made available to all British subjects over the aged 70 or older who had lived in Canada for 20 years (though Status Indians were excluded). The pension, however, was limited to seniors whose annual income was less than $350.
D - we'll look back and wish we'd left it like that...
Imagine that: Boomers that have all retired (and at an earlier age than you are allowed to) just... lingering. Absolutely refusing to just kick the bucket. Ending up with a whole lot of centenarians. Gah!
Old drivers to get graduated licenses for cars
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/health-news/65-going-on-16-medical-journal-proposes-new-rules-for-elderly-drivers/article2391868/
An editorial published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says some seniors keep driving as they age despite “substantial physical or mental deterioration.”
The piece points to data from 2009 showing more seniors died in fatal vehicle crashes than any other age group and goes on to suggest a graduated licensing system – like what new drivers work through – to help protect elderly Canadians and others on the road.
“The main motivation here is that road trauma is a serious cause of death and disability in seniors throughout Canada,” said Donald Redelmeier, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto who co-authored the editorial.
Regulations currently in place across much of the country require physicians to report patients who are likely to be a hazard on the road based on medical conditions. Some provinces also require drivers to be retested once they reach a certain age.
In Ontario, for example, residents 80 and over need to renew their licence every two years and must pass a visual and multiple-choice test on road safety before attending a group education session to brush up on their skills.
The problem with the existing regulations, said Dr. Redelmeier, is that many doctors often don’t report patients who might pose a risk on the road.
Dr. Redelmeier says such a graduating licensing program might place restrictions on night-time driving, high-speed roads and blood alcohol concentration.
-----------
D - interestingly, teen and retired drivers share a single identical risk factor: night blindness. Limiting driving after sundown makes sense for both.
I'd like to point out that car rental companies do not pick on retirees the same way as they do youth, despite an identical risk of accidents.
D - look at the pretty picture. Seniors match the accident rate of teen drivers by 75-80. It is only fair at that point that
1) either they get treated the same, or
2) we remove the limits on teen youth drivers.
P.S.: feel free to tell car rental companies that you will BOYCOTT them if they continue to discriminate against teen and young adult drivers!
This is particularly important if you are older than that - it shows solidarity.
If you are still that young, promise you will continue to nurse your grudge in a few more years! <:
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
quebec tuition and access to pro degrees
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/04/02/f-post-secondary-tuition-accessibility.html
(D - here is the passage I object to.)
"Student financial aid isn't perfect but by and large ensures accessibility for those who would otherwise face financial barriers," Finnie says.
Several other institutions, including the University of Saskatchewan, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) have come to similar conclusions about enrolment, based on available data.
Enrolment rise after hike
The MEI goes further. A 2004 paper by economist Norma Kozhaya states that university enrolment continued to rise in Quebec even after a brief hike in tuition rates in 1991-92.
In fact, rising tuition costs haven’t deterred students from enrolling in universities across the country.
Undergraduate enrolment overall surpassed the million-student mark in September 2011, according to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, a three per cent increase from 2010. There was also a 3.2 per cent increase in full-time graduate student attendance.
TUITION FEES Comparing post-secondary costs across Canada
Ontario and Saskatchewan, which both have high university tuitions, at $6,640 and $5,601 respectively, still see a record number of students. Saskatchewan’s enrolment in 2010 was up two per cent. Ontario’s enrolment increased 2.7 per cent in 2009
-------------
D - the devil is in the details. Other provinces other than Quebec typically have much higher tuition fees. In particular, Ontario does. SO let's look at the impact of high tuition rates in Ontario on what degree students choose to pursue.
--------------
http://ocufa.on.ca/wordpress/assets/tuition_trap.pdf
(D - by OCUFA, 2005, regarding Ontario.)
Although tuition in general has continued to be subject to government regulation – albeit
at higher regulated levels – Ontario does have some direct experience with the impact of
full deregulation in professional programs. Analysis based on surveys of physicians and
medical students across Canada in 1997, 2000 and 2004 reveals a decline in the
participation by students from lower-income families and adds some provocative data on
changes in accumulated debt and career choices over time as tuition has increased...
From 1990 to 2002, the share of tuition in university operating revenues more than
doubled, from 21 per cent to 43 per cent. The share of college operating revenues
accounted for by tuition jumped from 17 per cent to 31 per cent.
While tuition has been increasing in every province in Canada, its shift in Ontario puts
the province substantially out of step with the rest of Canada...
The high-tuition strategy
In Ontario specifically, enrolment increased
over the past 10 years because the postsecondary system absorbed the so-called double
cohort of first-year entrants arising from the elimination of Grade 13...
...a June 2004
study for the Millennium Scholarship Foundation cites widespread evidence from both
the United States and Canada that increasing costs have had an impact on participation by
students from low-income backgrounds...
• There is evidence that students reduce their class loads in order to earn needed
funding through part-time employment, thus increasing the time required to
graduate.
• There is evidence that a number of students interrupt their studies or drop out of
college or university due to a lack of finances.
• There is evidence that rural and low-income students may be opting for shorter
programs in the college and technical sectors, in part because of lower cost.
-----------
D - High tuitions prevent poor students from gaining comparable access to higher education . This is confirmed in other studies also.
-----------
http://www.ousa.ca/2011/09/06/stop-drop-and-freeze-tuition-fees-in-ontario-by-alicia-ali-september-6-2011/
According to the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation, 40% of college students who exit their program prior to completion do so because of insufficient funds. Underrepresented groups, particularly low-income, Aboriginal, rural and northern students are those affected the most by high fees. These students are most likely to go into debt to finance their post-secondary studies, yet far more likely to be price sensitive and debt averse. Almost 40% of individuals who never attended higher education listed finances as a barrier to participation. Several studies have concluded that tuition increases have a moderate impact on post-secondary participation in low-income students. The argument that increases in financial assistance has offset rising tuition is undermined by the fact that need-based aid has not kept pace with tuition.
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D - StatsCan suggests that the middle class in Ontario was the biggest loser in a mismatch between high tuition rates for professional programs, and access to needs-based student aid.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/050927/dq050927a-eng.htm
1995 to 2002
Tuition fees for professional programs in Ontario's universities soared during the late 1990s, nearly quadrupling in the case of medicine and almost tripling for law.
A new study has found that these big jumps were associated with substantial changes in the likelihood that students from different socio-economic backgrounds would enrol in medicine, law or dentistry programs...
However, the only group that experienced declines in enrolment included Ontario students from middle educated parents, whose parents had post-secondary qualifications below a graduate degree...
Other provinces saw moderate increases in tuition fees and moderate changes in enrolment patterns in professional programs across the socio-economic spectrum.
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D - in conclusion, merely pointing to increasing levels of attendance at university despite higher tuition fees ignores the 'devil in the details'. High tuition fees, particularly without matching generous student aid to offset it, acts as a deterrence to obtaining the same outcome for non-rich as rich students.
D - it used to be that the sons of lawyers and doctors would becomes the same. Now it's sons and daughters - but the classist aspect has not changed. Deregulating tuitions are motivated by a desire for a government to reduce expenditures. This very fact makes it highly unlikely that such a government will increase access to student aid to offset this, since then that government can't screw students out of funding as much.
(D - here is the passage I object to.)
"Student financial aid isn't perfect but by and large ensures accessibility for those who would otherwise face financial barriers," Finnie says.
Several other institutions, including the University of Saskatchewan, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) have come to similar conclusions about enrolment, based on available data.
Enrolment rise after hike
The MEI goes further. A 2004 paper by economist Norma Kozhaya states that university enrolment continued to rise in Quebec even after a brief hike in tuition rates in 1991-92.
In fact, rising tuition costs haven’t deterred students from enrolling in universities across the country.
Undergraduate enrolment overall surpassed the million-student mark in September 2011, according to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, a three per cent increase from 2010. There was also a 3.2 per cent increase in full-time graduate student attendance.
TUITION FEES Comparing post-secondary costs across Canada
Ontario and Saskatchewan, which both have high university tuitions, at $6,640 and $5,601 respectively, still see a record number of students. Saskatchewan’s enrolment in 2010 was up two per cent. Ontario’s enrolment increased 2.7 per cent in 2009
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D - the devil is in the details. Other provinces other than Quebec typically have much higher tuition fees. In particular, Ontario does. SO let's look at the impact of high tuition rates in Ontario on what degree students choose to pursue.
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http://ocufa.on.ca/wordpress/assets/tuition_trap.pdf
(D - by OCUFA, 2005, regarding Ontario.)
Although tuition in general has continued to be subject to government regulation – albeit
at higher regulated levels – Ontario does have some direct experience with the impact of
full deregulation in professional programs. Analysis based on surveys of physicians and
medical students across Canada in 1997, 2000 and 2004 reveals a decline in the
participation by students from lower-income families and adds some provocative data on
changes in accumulated debt and career choices over time as tuition has increased...
From 1990 to 2002, the share of tuition in university operating revenues more than
doubled, from 21 per cent to 43 per cent. The share of college operating revenues
accounted for by tuition jumped from 17 per cent to 31 per cent.
While tuition has been increasing in every province in Canada, its shift in Ontario puts
the province substantially out of step with the rest of Canada...
The high-tuition strategy
In Ontario specifically, enrolment increased
over the past 10 years because the postsecondary system absorbed the so-called double
cohort of first-year entrants arising from the elimination of Grade 13...
...a June 2004
study for the Millennium Scholarship Foundation cites widespread evidence from both
the United States and Canada that increasing costs have had an impact on participation by
students from low-income backgrounds...
• There is evidence that students reduce their class loads in order to earn needed
funding through part-time employment, thus increasing the time required to
graduate.
• There is evidence that a number of students interrupt their studies or drop out of
college or university due to a lack of finances.
• There is evidence that rural and low-income students may be opting for shorter
programs in the college and technical sectors, in part because of lower cost.
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D - High tuitions prevent poor students from gaining comparable access to higher education . This is confirmed in other studies also.
-----------
http://www.ousa.ca/2011/09/06/stop-drop-and-freeze-tuition-fees-in-ontario-by-alicia-ali-september-6-2011/
According to the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation, 40% of college students who exit their program prior to completion do so because of insufficient funds. Underrepresented groups, particularly low-income, Aboriginal, rural and northern students are those affected the most by high fees. These students are most likely to go into debt to finance their post-secondary studies, yet far more likely to be price sensitive and debt averse. Almost 40% of individuals who never attended higher education listed finances as a barrier to participation. Several studies have concluded that tuition increases have a moderate impact on post-secondary participation in low-income students. The argument that increases in financial assistance has offset rising tuition is undermined by the fact that need-based aid has not kept pace with tuition.
----------
D - StatsCan suggests that the middle class in Ontario was the biggest loser in a mismatch between high tuition rates for professional programs, and access to needs-based student aid.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/050927/dq050927a-eng.htm
1995 to 2002
Tuition fees for professional programs in Ontario's universities soared during the late 1990s, nearly quadrupling in the case of medicine and almost tripling for law.
A new study has found that these big jumps were associated with substantial changes in the likelihood that students from different socio-economic backgrounds would enrol in medicine, law or dentistry programs...
However, the only group that experienced declines in enrolment included Ontario students from middle educated parents, whose parents had post-secondary qualifications below a graduate degree...
Other provinces saw moderate increases in tuition fees and moderate changes in enrolment patterns in professional programs across the socio-economic spectrum.
----------
D - in conclusion, merely pointing to increasing levels of attendance at university despite higher tuition fees ignores the 'devil in the details'. High tuition fees, particularly without matching generous student aid to offset it, acts as a deterrence to obtaining the same outcome for non-rich as rich students.
D - it used to be that the sons of lawyers and doctors would becomes the same. Now it's sons and daughters - but the classist aspect has not changed. Deregulating tuitions are motivated by a desire for a government to reduce expenditures. This very fact makes it highly unlikely that such a government will increase access to student aid to offset this, since then that government can't screw students out of funding as much.
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